News
Why Lexi Thompson isn't too upset about missing the cut at the Evian Championship
Stuart Franklin
There are days when you get all the right bounces, every putt drops, and if you do end up in the rough, it's a great lie. And other days are the exact opposite. Lexi Thompson unfortunately had the latter at the Evian Championship in France. Thompson took to Instagram to say goodbye to the course on Friday. After her rounds of 77-72, it doesn't sound like she's going to miss it.
In the post, Thompson says that she hit the ball horribly on the first day, when she hit five fairways and struggled to 37 putts. Though her play improved on Friday, Thompson said that the unlucky breaks she got were too much to handle. Thompson wrote:
"Not one to make excuses, but to land 3-4 drives in the middle of fairway and end up in the rough like the one pic with a stance like that, or get a first cut lie like this one, what is this telling you? And to play well today hit one bad golf shot but hit 3 iron shots right at the pin 5 ft at one point then end up 40+ ft....umm really?"
It has been extremely hot, with temperatures in the 90s. As such, the course that started out a little softer during the beginning of the week has become firmer and faster, which would account for some of the tough breaks Thompson is talking about.
Not everyone in the field is having the same experience. With the tournament being played in July instead of September for the first time since 2012, others are happy with the way the course is set up this year.
Mel Reid, after shooting a first-round 66, said, "The greens were quite soft at the start of the week. I think that it’s in pretty good shape. The rough is up, so you kind of need to keep it on the fairway."
"[The greens] are pretty undulated," Reid continued, "so you can get screwed easily from not that much of a bad shot. The condition of it is the best I’ve seen it for a long, long time. It’s a huge difference from making the changes. This is best I’ve seen it."
On a difficult, sloping course that's playing firm and fast, how you feel about the course can depend on what side of the bounce you're on. For Thompson, she clearly got too many bad bounces.
"I’m actually very thankful that I don’t have to put myself thru that for another two days," she wrote. "You’re a beautiful place Evian but that’s just too many bad breaks with good shots for me, so bye @evianchamp !"
If you're going to miss the cut anywhere, it might as well be in the French Alps. A weekend sipping wine with views of Lake Geneva doesn't sound terrible.
UPDATE: Thompson has removed the post and replaced it with the one below, clarifying that her first post was purely in reaction to the tough time she had on the course.